Friday, December 31, 2010

Down on the River

This is a terrible picture I know, but if you click, all that darkness, just above the highway is geese, filling one of the last pools of unfrozen water. They sleep there every night and shuttle over us all day long. I looked west from the river bridge at dusk the other day and they were swirling above the pool like a tornado vortex all made up of geese.

Another dark time barn trip. Still no action on the calving front; a few cows scramble to their feet to see if I have any grain hidden about my person, but the rest of them just look curiously at me.

Down on the river out there in the dark, oh, my. Ducks all up and down the broken pools in front are cackling like crazy witches, QUACK, QUACK, QUACK, QUACK, QUACK, QUACK. The same pattern every time, but not the same duck....there are a lot of them, all doing the same thing. I looked here and came to the conclusion they are probably hen mallards. There are certainly enough of them around and the volume descends properly.

They are very loud and the calls come, one at a time, from a long stretch of water. It is something I have never heard before. They were yakking it up when I headed out to the barn and still at it when I returned.

Took a few minutes to walk down on the front drive and listen between the traffic. What a wild night, with that great big ducky party town, right in front of the house. The geese bugling gently as they keep their places on the relentless water are melodious and kind by contrast.

Dani, we are so lucky. We live, literally within a stones throw of a small town, but we have amazing wildlife. I just came in from another morning barn check and besides the geese and ducks there was a coyote barking and howling across the river.

Lisa, Happy New Year! They woke Ralph up in the night they make so much noise.

Ed, as long as there is open water, even a handkerchief-sized bit, and corn fields to glean, they will stay. We have no snow (thankfully) so there are thousands. I am enjoying them

Jeffro, they are indeed, and the heifers had the added incentive of loving to run around and a big open field on the other side of the gate.